Is It Easier to Vote Fraudulently Than It Is to Sign Up for Obamacare?

07Oct

Friends,

To start, tonight I went to the Healthcare.gov website to peruse it & see what it would cost me to get health insurance, since technically, I’m part-time on my jobs & the one that has benefits for part-time employees will be discontinuing that coverage next year. The other job does not offer benefits for part-time employees at all. My identity couldn’t be verified (but they brought up my income & employers just fine – amazing!). I received a message which said that I needed to upload two pieces of identification like an original birth certificate & driver’s license because they couldn’t “auto” verify my identity, not even when I entered my social security number. I think I’ll just stay off the radar for now (hehe!)…but I digress a little.

I started thinking about the irony surrounding being asked by the federal government for official identification so that I could apply for and obtain health insurance. So let me get this straight. Again, Healthcare.gov tells me that I have to scan & upload two pieces of identification. One of them must have a picture (state issued ID, military ID or driver’s license). The website informed me on the site & via email that it would not process or accept my application without uploading original ID in order to verify my identity. The “submit” button was even disabled. Whether or not you think voter fraud exists (and I’ve never really jumped on the voter fraud bandwagon), many on the right want everyone to show ID in order to vote. The acceptable forms of ID are things you need already in our society to cash a check, get on a plane, buy cigarettes…etc. The right has been called “racist” & accused of disenfranchising voters – most notably black Americans, Hispanics, college students & senior citizens. Well, I’m a black American & the federal government just told me that I can’t get healthcare without showing an ID. What’s wrong with this picture? Liberals and Democrats (many of you), will you call Obamacare racist? Am I being discriminated against? Why no outrage?

If you think that voter ID laws are racist and make it harder for the poor and minorities to vote, then certainly you must be outraged that those same poor people would be required to show ID (and upload it on a computer no less) to sign up for health insurance. This is of course assuming that they have a computer, internet service and the ability to scan the required identification, or that they have a computer at all. According to the Huffington Post, 20% of Americans have no internet access and the overwhelming majority of them are poor Americans. I know, I know, some will lament, “They can use the computer at the public library for free,” and on that we’d be in agreement, however, that’s no different from those of us on the right who have been explaining how easy it is (and affordable) for the same persons to obtain a state issued ID or the required documents necessary to get one.

My point is this liberals – be consistent. If you’re OK with the federal government requiring Americans to scan & upload identification in order to apply & sign up for health insurance, then showing identification in order to cast a ballot should be just as acceptable. Before anyone comments, challenging the veracity of my experience:

As always, just my musings….Until next time – everyone have a wonderful, productive week!

I apologize for the delay in responding but am just seeing this post. I have no huge problem with voters being required to provide a legitimate photo ID to vote. I do have a problem that in many states they will not accept some state/county/city issued photo ID’s like college ID’s or work ID’s as identification which in my opinion is simply a tactic to make it harder for groups less likely to vote Republican to vote. I don’t believe fraud is a major issue anywhere and every story I’ve researched like 900 dead people in South Carolina voting or 50,000 fraudulent Florida votes or votes in Ohio exceeding the number of registered voters all turned out to be false.

Setting the photo ID issue aside. In every case the alleged Voter ID laws are accompanied by several other laws which do not combat fraud and whose sole purpose is to suppress votes. They include; reduction or elimination of early voting, making it harder to register, relocation of polling places and unequal polling machine allocation. Those long lines in urban neighborhoods in 2008 and 2012 were no myth and were created to attempt to win elections.